EARLY EXPERIENCES.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17372, 7 April 1928, Page 9

EARLY EXPERIENCES.

WORK ON A STATION. MR I. COATES’S NARRATIVE. In my last I had arrived at the Starborough Sheep Station. The first house I came to was the newly-built boarding-house, to which I went, and found an elderly man in charge. The place was not then properly furnished, but after I showed the man my letter from Mr Tetley to Mr Maddock, the manager, I was told to sit down and have some lea. I was then shown into a room in which were some -bunks, one of which I Look. I had a few woolpacks, and made myself as comfortable as I could. After breakfast I went to see Mr Maddock. lie told me he could not take me on at present, as they were full-handed, but said: “If you care to take on Hie painting of the new boardinghouse you can start at once.” I said that where I came from they never painted their houses, so that I never saw one painted, or I would have tackled the job. 1 then went to the cookhouse, and found a German there named Charley the Cook. I told Charley what Mr Maddock had offered me, and Charley told me 1 was a fool for not taking the job, saying, “If your work is good enough for him it is good enough for you, so you take it.” So after dinner 1 went and told Mr Maddock thal I would try the painting.

“All riglil,” lie said; “come with me," I and he showed me how to mix tile paint, and so 1 got all ready for a start in the morning. 1 think tin.; house had eleven rooms. J gave the building two coats in 10 days, and I was told that J had made a good job of the painting. The next job was to help to put Up a wire fence dividing a big paddock into two, and I lien came I lie lamb-tailing and drawing. I bad told .Mr Maddock that I had been accustomed to the work ol' lamb-drawing on the farm at home, d'lie first day two shepherds and myself were put on as a trial. At first they both could beat me, but before night t could turn the ram Jambs out faster than cither of the other men Next morning .Mr .Maddock told me to take the job, and in a few days f got so that I could draw and tail the ram lambs in a minute. That was said ic be a record. What I admired most was the counting of the sheep by the head shepherd. As they were coining in at the gateway the man could count the 5000 ewes wanted for the day It was thought that 5000 ewes would have 2000 ram lambs, which was a fair day’s work for one man, two men holding while the ewe iambs were Punched, so we had plenty of catchers -My next work was to thresh by the flail a stack ol oats, along with a mate, t hud never done any threshing by hand before, but bad often seen my father's men doing it, sq that I soon got into the way of it. As the weather remained fine v\c finished the slack within a week.